Understanding the Basics of Italian Verb Conjugation

Italian verbs change their endings based on the subject, tense, mood, and sometimes voice. This process is called conjugation. Unlike English, which often uses auxiliary verbs and relies less on changes in verb endings, Italian verbs require learners to memorize different forms for each subject and tense.

What Are Verb Conjugations?

Verb conjugations refer to the systematic changes in a verb’s form to express different grammatical categories such as person (first, second, third), number (singular, plural), tense (present, past, future), mood (indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative), and sometimes gender.

For example, the verb *parlare* (to speak) in the present tense changes as follows:

– Io parlo (I speak)
– Tu parli (You speak)
– Lui/Lei parla (He/She speaks)
– Noi parliamo (We speak)
– Voi